


Ranma - Forever Girl

by Mellissalynn



Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:30:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4204629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mellissalynn/pseuds/Mellissalynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ranma finds a potential cure for his curse at the library.  Investigating it renders a LOT of changes for everyone!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ranma - Forever Girl

Ranma – Forever Girl  
By MellissaLynn

`So this is the library,' Ranma said to himself. He looked around at the stacks of books all around him and wondered once again why it had taken him so long to do this.  
A young woman came up to him and said, "Hello, can I help you, sir?"  
"Where can I find books on magic?"

******

Ranma came in, shouting for everyone to come to the living room where Genma-panda and Soun sat playing Go.   
"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said when everyone was gathered.   
"WHAT?!" Akane gasped.  
"I think I've found a cure for the curse." He went on to explain that he'd found a book on Jusenkyo. In it, he'd found a potential cure. According to the book, jumping into one of the other pools would create crisscrossing waves of magic and thereby break the curse.   
"I checked the book out and brought it home. I thought that maybe I'd gather everyone who's cursed around here and we'd all take a trip to Jusenkyo. Whattya think, Pop? Up for a training trip?"  
Genma held up a sign that said, "Sounds good to me!"  
Ranma got on the phone and called the Nekohanten. He told Shampoo and Mousse that he'd found a possible cure and wanted them to go to Jusenkyo with him.  
Akane had looked at the book while he was on the phone. "Hey, Ranma?" she said.  
"Yeah?"  
"Did you notice that the page right after this one is missing?"  
"Uh-huh. So?"  
"Well, what if there's something more you have to do to break the curse?" she asked. "Something that was on the missing page. You could end up making the curse worse!"  
Ranma being Ranma, however, didn't pay any attention to her warnings. Akane decided to go along on the trip, just to make sure that nothing went wrong. Ranma made a few more calls, looking discreetly for Ryouga. Ukyou hadn't seen him, but decided to tag along on the trip. Finally, Ranma found Akari's phone number and called her.  
"Ranma? Hi! Yes, he's right here. Hold on..."  
"What do you want, Saotome?" Ryouga asked. "Are you finally ready for me to kill you, and you've called to tell me so? If not, there's nothing we have to talk about."

"I think there is, Ryouga." Ranma's use of Ryouga's actual name cut the arguing short. "Listen. It looks like I've found a cure for the curses. Now are you interested?" Ryouga listened while Ranma explained. When he finished, Ryouga said, "All right. I thought you were calling to ruin my life like usual. Thanks for calling. I'll meet you at Jusenkyo."  
"You sure you don't want us to come get you? Don't take this wrong, since we seem to have a truce, but this is one time I'd rather we were all together."  
"Thanks again, but for some reason, Jusenkyo is the one place I can find without any problem. It's almost like a magnet whenever I'm in China. I'll meet you there. Ummm...is Akane going along?"  
"Yeah."  
"I think I'll just do this when she's not watching, then. I'll see you there."

+++

Ranma, Akane, Mousse, Shampoo, Ukyou, and Genma reached Jusenkyo at about dusk on the third day of travel. They set up their campsite, ate dinner (Ranma had smartly taken Akane for a walk, allowing Ukyou and Shampoo to make dinner), had the usual assortment of battles, and divided up into two groups for sleeping. The girls all went into one tent and talked about the possibility of a cure; Ranma, Mousse, and Genma went to theirs and thanked the stars that Akane hadn't cooked.   
Akane woke a bit earlier than the others the next morning and went in search of the guide. She had the book along, and was hoping maybe the guide had the missing page, or some more information on it.   
It was raining as she went, and she knew that would cause problems. She almost went and warned Shampoo not to come out, but decided not to as the rain appeared to be lessening. She wrapped her poncho around her a bit tighter and left.   
She found the guide's hut fairly quickly and knocked on the door. When the guide opened the door, she thought at first that Ranma had somehow gotten ahead of her and gotten wet. Then she looked again and noticed some small differences, and realized that this was the guide.  
She introduced herself, and was offered some tea. The guide looked at the cover of the book she had, sighed, and went to a nearby bookshelf, pulling off a duplicate copy. Akane read the missing page and her eyes widened in shock. She grabbed the guide's hand and they ran back to the campsite.  
Ranma-chan was standing at the edge of the Spring of Drowned Man, preparing to jump. Akane shouted, "STOP!" and caught the redhead, just managing to swing her to the side of the pool.  
"Why'd you do that?" Ranma spluttered.  
"Read!" Akane said, handing her the book with the page in. Ranma-chan read it and her eyes widened. "'This cure was disproved later, when it was found that other pools only seal the curse, making the cursed form permanent.' Wow! Thanks, Akane," Ranma-chan said, still holding her hand.

Genma, who was in panda form, reached up and pulled down a branch from a bamboo tree for a snack. Shampoo was standing nearby, holding Mousse-duck. The leaves on the tree, still covered in water, splashed them both. Shampoo-neku found herself buried under duck and yowled, flinging him off and jumping at Ranma-chan.   
Of course, Ranma jumped away instinctively. Unfortunately, she was still holding Akane's hand, and even more unfortunately, she jumped straight backward, into the pool, dragging Akane with her. Akane landed on top of Ranma, knocking the redhead underwater.  
Ukyou ran to get a kettle of hot water, praying that it wouldn't happen. The guide waded out into the pool and retrieved Akane, now Akane-kun, and Ranma, who was knocked out by Akane. At the others' startled looks, she said that her curse was already permanent and the pools held no sway over her now.   
Ukyou returned with the water and poured on Shampoo first, to forestall any more attacks of cat-phobia on Ranma-chan's part. Shampoo changed back and looked miserable. Ukyou ran to Ranma-chan and poured, her heart in her mouth.  
"Come on, change!" she prayed. It was no good, however. Ranma stayed female. Ukyou splashed some over onto Akane, and was relieved to see her normal female form return.  
Genma motioned for her, and she poured some water onto him. He returned to normal and went to his new daughter, who was beginning to awaken. "What happened?" she asked. "I remember Shampoo changing, then- OH NO!" She looked up at Genma desperately. "Did I-"  
"I'm afraid so," the guide said. "I'm very sorry."  
Ranma-chan broke down and cried for the first time in her life.

It took awhile for Ranma-chan to stop crying. Finally her sobs tapered off and she looked up at the others, her gaze finally settling on Akane. "I'm sorry I never told you I love you," she said simply, then stood and ran away into the forest. Akane made as if to follow, but Genma stopped her. In a rare show of compassion, he said, "She needs to work through this on her own. Don't worry, she'll be back."  
"What if she can't work through it?" Akane asked. "What if she...tries something stupid?"  
"What? Suicide? Akane, you know Ranma better than that. She'll be alright."  
Unnoticed, Mousse slipped off after Ranma. 'Genma may be right,' he thought, ' but I'm going to make sure.'

Ranma ran as far as she could, finally collapsing in a clearing. She fell to her knees, physically exhausted but mentally and emotionally still charged. Her ki was at an all-time high, and she finally understood Ryouga's ability to do the Shishi Houdoukan. With a soprano scream, she aimed her hands at the sky and let loose with a blast, then passed out.  
Mousse saw it and hurried toward the point of origin. He found Ranma collapsed in a heap. He gingerly arranged her a bit better, then concealed himself in a tree and waited for her to awaken.   
At last her eyes fluttered, then opened. She looked around her dully, then muttered, "It was all a dream!" She sat up and looked down at herself. The truth crashed in on her and she started to sob again.

Words started coming out of the sobs. "What do I do now?" she asked. "Everything's ruined! I can't marry Akane, I can't face mother, I can't do anything!" She reached into a pocket and pulled out a pocketknife. "There's no point to fighting anymore."  
She opened the knife and raised her hand. Mousse jumped down at that point and tackled her. "No, Ranma! I won't let you do that!" Fortunately for him, his vision as usual betrayed him, and he went wide of Ranma, landing on a palm plant.  
Ranma was startled enough to stop, however. "Mousse! You were following me!"  
He turned toward the sound of her voice. "Put the knife down, Ranma. Killing yourself won't solve anything."  
Ranma's eyes went wide. "Kill myself?" she said, puzzled. "You thought I was trying to kill myself? I might want to die right now, Mousse, but I'm not going to hasten the process along!" She reached up and grabbed her pigtail. With one swing, she lopped it loose, and the hair fell loosely about her shoulders.   
Now Mousse was puzzled. "Why?" he asked.  
She was on the verge of crying again. "It was a symbol," she said. "I wore that in defiance of the curse. It was the one sign of masculinity that didn't change when I was cursed. Now it's pointless, though. Just a useless reminder of - of-" She couldn't continue and broke down again.  
Mousse awkwardly went to her and sat down. He put an arm around her shoulders. She turned her head and leaned into his chest, crying harder.   
That was how the others found them a bit later. Akane looked at them and felt a bit of jealousy, which she quickly suppressed. 'Ranma's a girl now,' she said to herself. 'She's probably going to go for boys-'  
It hit her once again that she now was one, at least part-time. 'Is this how she used to feel?' she thought. 'I think I understand her a little better now.'  
Ranma finally stopped again and looked up. "Thanks, Mousse," she said.  
"Anytime." He stood gracefully and helped her up. She looked around at the others and once again stopped on Akane. "I guess we're not engaged anymore, are we?" she asked.   
Now Akane was the one who started to cry. "Oh Ranma," she said and went to the other girl. They hugged and Akane said, "I love you, too, Ranma."  
Genma had hung back a bit. Now he stepped forward. "Ranma," he began, "I'm so sorry. I-"  
"Pop," Ranma said. "This time it's not your fault. If anyone's to blame, I am. I'm the one who brought us all here." Her lip quivered. "And now I'm the one who's ruined my life. And yours," she added to Akane. "I'm the one who should be sorry, Akane. I'd never wish this on you."  
"It's all right, Ranma. You've all coped with curses for so long, I'm sure I can do it too. You're just going to have to show me how to cope. I need you, Ranma. We'll get through this."  
"We should head back," Mousse said. "The rain's getting ready to start again."

They trudged back to the campsite in silence. About halfway there, the rain began. Only Ranma and Ukyou were unaffected by it. Ranma was so lost in thought that she didn't even freak when Shampoo changed.  
The night was utterly different than the previous one. No one fought. By mutual consent, Akane stayed male and joined Genma and Mousse, who also stayed in their cursed forms. Ranma joined Shampoo and Ukyou in the other tent.  
As they were packing up the next day, the guide appeared. "May I have a word with you all?" she asked.   
"Miss Ranma, I understand fully the way you feel. I felt the same way long ago, when it happened to me. Right now you must feel that your life has ended. Yes?" Ranma nodded.  
"You feel that you're a freak. You feel that you've lost all value in the world and there's no real reason to keep on living. Still right?" More reluctantly, Ranma nodded again. The others all looked at her concernedly. The guide went on. "Then I put it to you this way. Don't look at this as a catastrophe. Look at it as a challenge instead."  
Genma was nodding inside. 'Why didn't I think of this?' he said to himself. 'The one thing Ranma can never turn away from is a challenge.'  
Ranma herself was looking a little more interested. "A challenge?" she asked. "In what way?"  
"To live," the guide said simply. "To be productive. To be an active part of society."  
Now Ranma shook her head. "You don't understand," she said. "It isn't that easy. So much of my life is centered around being a guy. I have three fiancées. I have WAY too many male enemies. Not that THEY'RE any problems." Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh dear God, I'm going to have to deal with Happosai!" The other girls all winced in sympathy. "And Kuno isn't going to be an enemy anymore, he's going to be a SUITOR!"  
"Don't worry about him, Ranma. I'll take care of him for you," Akane said.   
"Taking care of him that way isn't the problem. Beating him up just doesn't work. It doesn't work on any of us. We're all too stubborn and thick-headed. I'm going to have to sit down and talk to him. In fact, I'm going to have to sit down and talk to everybody, starting with the three of you. Obviously, all of my engagements are nullified. In fact..."  
As Ranma rambled on, Akane felt her heart about to burst. Her love, her fiancé, was hurting beyond belief, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.  
'Wait a minute...maybe there IS something I can do about it. But am I going to be able to pull it off?' She looked at Ranma again. 'I love him...her. I'm not a lesbian, so...I'm going to have to do it!'   
Ranma was just winding down her monologue of new problems. Akane stood up and started walking away. Ukyou was the only one who followed.   
"Where are you going, Akane?" she asked as she caught up to the other girl.  
"I want just one more look at this nasty place," Akane replied evasively. Ukyou said nothing, but stayed with Akane as they walked in silence. At last Ukyou said, "That isn't the only reason, is it, Akane?"

"What do you mean?"  
"I saw the look on your face as Ranma was talking back there. You made what looked like a big decision. Your face was wrinkled in thought, then, when you had decided, your face was resolute."  
"You're going into a pool again, aren't you?"  
Akane whipped into a fighting stance. "Don't try to stop me, Ukyou! It's the only way I can be with him...her. I-"  
"You love him that much, don't you? Even after all the fighting, all the names, all the nasty situations, you really love him as much as I do." Ukyou shook her head. "I should've realized that from the start, I guess."  
"Ukyou...why haven't you already thought of this? I mean, you're more comfortable dressed as a boy anyway. I would have thought this would be your perfect solution."   
"I...I actually did think of it. That's when I figured out where we're going. But..." She fell silent for a minute, then continued. "There's one real good reason for me not to do this."  
"He...she...RANMA loves you. Like she said back there, maybe it's time for us all to grow up and settle this royal mess our love lives are. Ranma loves you. She'll always be my best friend, but you're the one she wants. True love is giving the person you love whatever it takes for them to be happy. That's what you're doing. That's what I'm going to do. I'm giving Ranma release from our engagement and to you."  
Akane said nothing for a moment. Then she turned to Ukyou and stopped. "You really are her best friend. I hope she always remembers how good you really are." The two girls embraced, then walked on in silence until they reached the spring. Akane pulled a canteen out. She said, "I'm not going to do this here. This will be for when we're home. It's only fair to my family that they witness this."  
Ukyou nodded. "Actually, there's something else we need to do before we return to Nerima. Right now, there's one person Ranma needs above anyone else in her life. Does the guide have a phone in her house?" 

Just as they were ready to walk out of the camp area, Ryouga strolled in. He looked at Ranma and said to himself, "It obviously didn't work." Then he saw a stranger, a young man who looked vaguely familiar.   
"Ryouga!" the young man exclaimed. Ranma looked up and her face paled. "What are you doing here?" the stranger continued.  
"Do I know you?" Ryouga asked.  
"Of course-oh, I'm sorry, you don't know what's happened. It's me, Akane."  
Ryouga's sight went bright red. AKANE? He turned slowly to Ranma. "It's bad enough that it happened to you and your father. It was worse when it happened to me. But now you've gone too far, Ranma Saotome. Now I'm going to kill you, once and for all!" He began glowing blue.

Out of the blue, a mallet crashed against his head. His aura shielded him enough to allow him to stay conscious, but he sat down hard. Akane-kun stood over him, glaring. "Listen to me now, Ryouga. It wasn't Ranma's fault. She had nothing to do with it. It was an accident, and she was hurt more by it than me."  
"Why do you keep saying she and her? Ranma's a guy."  
"Not anymore. The cure backfired. As things stand right now, Ranma's a girl forever."  
There was dead silence for a minute. At last Ryouga looked over at Ranma, who hadn't moved during the entire exchange. "I'm sorry," Ryouga said at last. "How did it happen?"  
"As it turns out, a second dunking makes the curse permanent," Ranma said dully.   
Akane-kun was looking at Ryouga funnily. He asked, "What did you mean, when he did it to you, Ryouga? Is that why you've been after Ranma so much? Are you cursed also?"  
Now Ranma and Ryouga were both big-sweating hard. "I-I-" Ryouga stammered, but it turned into a squeal as Shampoo hit him with a splash of (regular) water. P-chan stood dejectedly in Ryouga's clothes, looking up at Akane-kun fearfully.  
He glared down at him, then over at Ranma, who actually seemed to have forgotten her own problems for a minute. She appeared to be ready to execute the Saotome Secret Technique.  
Suddenly Akane-kun laughed. "It's finally out in the open!" she exclaimed. "Relax. I've known it all along."  
"WHAT?!" Ranma exclaimed. "And you still let him sleep with you?"   
"When he can talk instead of squeal again, ask Ryouga how much he actually ever saw of me. Didn't you ever notice I was always wearing a bit more to sleep in when I had P-chan?"  
"So you mean that we've been hiding that from you for nothing?" Ranma said slowly. She gradually started to laugh, a clean healthy laugh that everyone else soon was joining in on. Ranma picked P-chan up and said, "Well, buddy, since those days are obviously over, I don't need to be so mean to you as P-chan anymore. Come on, everyone, let's go home!"

The trip seemed to be good for Ranma's spirits. She started to come to terms with what had happened to her. She started working out again with Genma, now joined by Akane-kun (who seemed to be staying male intentionally), Mousse, Shampoo, Ukyou, and Ryouga. They stopped for a day in Shampoo and Mousse's village, where several phone calls were made. All in all, it was the most relaxed everyone had ever been together.   
At last they reached the outskirts of Nerima. Ranma immediately hopped up onto a fence as they started walking home.   
As they approached the Nekohanten, Shampoo said, "Shampoo and Mousse see everyone later. Must talk to great-grandmother now."  
"Actually, could you ask her to join us?" Akane-kun asked. "There's a lot of things we have to all work out; we might as well get everyone together and do it."  
Genma, relieved that the trip was over, added, "Maybe she could bring along some ramen?" Everyone rolled their eyes.   
Cologne joined them shortly. Her eyes widened at the sight of Ranma and Akane-kun. "I see the trip was not a success," she said. She handed Genma a take-out box of ramen and chopsticks, which he made short work of as they reached the street where the dojo was. 

A large banner hung from the front of the dojo, reading "Welcome Home!" Kasumi was out on the sidewalk sweeping. She looked up and broke out in a wide smile. "They're here!" she called out to the house. Unobtrusively, Ukyou, Akane-kun, Ryouga, Shampoo and Mousse moved into a loose circle around Ranma.  
Soun came out and burst into tears. Nabiki followed behind. And behind her was...  
"Nodoka?" Genma said.  
Her face was stern and set. "Yes, husband, I'm here. And I know the whole story now. We need to talk later, but for now..." Her face softened. "Welcome home. Both of you."  
Ranma suddenly turned and started to run away. She found herself surrounded by her friends. "Not this time, Ranma," Akane-kun said softly. "Go to her. You need her. She needs you. It's time for the truth."  
Slowly Ranma turned to her mother. Nodoka held her arms out, and Ranma felt like she was six years old again. With a cry of "Mama!", she flung herself into her mother's arms.   
Everyone went into the house except the Saotome family. Genma stood to one side, looking sheepish and scared. Ranma's face wasn't visible; it was buried in her mother's bosom as they held each other. Nodoka looked up at Genma and motioned him over to where she and Ranma sat. Hesitantly, Genma sat down next to her and tentatively put his arm around her shoulders. She pulled him to her hard and they embraced, Ranma still between them.  
At last Ranma said in a muffled tone, "I need air, folks." She pulled away just a little as her parents let go of each other. "How did you know to be here?" she asked Nodoka.  
"You have some really good friends," Nodoka replied. "They called me from China and told me what had happened. Why didn't either of you ever tell me?"   
Suddenly Ranma realized that her life, in theory, was about to end. She stood up and said, "All right, Mom. Please, make it quick."  
"What are you talking about?"  
"Well, it's obvious that I'm not a man, so-"  
"Oh, that. Ranma darling, the situation's altered. From what I understand, it isn't your fault that you're a young woman now." She turned to Genma. "Although I could make an argument that it IS yours, husband, I really don't want to. I've found that this long separation has changed my opinion of what's important. I find that I'd rather have my family together instead of divided by some silly threat."  
Genma's shoulders sagged with sudden relief. "So we're not about to die?"  
"No, I've got other uses for you now." Her eyes twinkled, and Genma smiled a smile that Ranma had only seen on his face when there was lots of free food around. "There is one thing, husband."  
"What?"  
She pulled out a glass of water and splashed him. "I don't want to see THIS form very often! I married a man, not a panda!"   
Genma held up a sign. 'OK!' Nodoka smiled, and they went into the house to join everyone else.

 

Inside, a party was in full swing. Shampoo came up to Ranma, all smiles. "Great-grandmother made new ruling today, based on what happened. Ranma and Shampoo no longer engaged." Ranma immediately went into a fighting stance, and Shampoo laughed. "No longer blood enemies, either. Shampoo want Ranma at wedding."  
"What wedding?"  
"Well..." Shampoo turned red. "Shampoo and Mousse talked on way back from China. Shampoo now free to marry someone else. Mousse here, so Shampoo marry."  
Cologne joined them. "Ranma," she said, "I'm sorry for what's happened to you. I know how you feel about that form."  
"Thanks. What will you all do now?"  
"I'm going to go home for awhile. My great-grand-daughter no longer needs me here, and I want to see my friends and the rest of my family. Shampoo and Mousse are going to stay here and run the restaurant after they're married. I've arranged the necessary paperwork to get them Japanese citizenship, and starting next week, Shampoo's going to start classes to learn to speak better Japanese." She smiled. "But you're not rid of me, young lady! I still think you're the best student I've ever had."   
"Thank you, Cologne. I'm sorry for all the times I called you an old ghoul."  
"Don't apologize. I was doing my level best to intimidate you, but I've found that to be impossible. Besides, I'm sure there were times that I MIGHT have deserved it." Her eyes twinkled. "Once or twice."  
Ranma laughed. She held out her hand, and Cologne took it, squeezing slightly. "Take care of yourself, Ranma Saotome. Remember that the body is only a shell. Inside, you're still the same. Farewell. Great-granddaughter, I'm going to take my leave now. The business is still waiting!"  
With a laugh, Cologne hopped away on her staff. Ranma and Shampoo gazed after her fondly. "For all the problems she caused me, I can never thank her enough," Ranma said. "Her training was invaluable."  
"Shampoo and Mousse go now too," Shampoo said. "Hopefully, next time, Shampoo be able to talk better."  
Ranma pulled Shampoo in for a hug. "Take care, you guys," she said. "We'll be looking for the wedding invites."  
"Wait!" Akane called out. "Don't leave yet, anyone. There's something I have to say first." She went to Ranma. "Ranma, I love you," she said. "Do you recognize this?"   
"It's a canteen. Why?"  
"It's full of water from the Spring of Drowned Man." Before anyone could stop him, he dumped the bottle over himself. Ranma sprang forward with a cry, but it was too late. The contents splashed over Akane-kun, and he shivered once. "I'm a man now, Ranma. Forever. I love you. Marry me."  
Slowly Ranma looked up at Akane. "You did -that- for me?" she asked softly. Akane nodded. Ranma started to cry softly. Through her tears, she said quietly, "Yes! I love you, Akane!"

End...?

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally based on a wholly different idea; it mutated into what you've just read. Originally, I wanted to do some more along these lines; maybe later I'll get inspiration for this one again.


End file.
